I sat down with Sufi and Co-Director of the Association of British Muslims, Paul Salahuddin Armstrong to ask him about Sufism, Islamophobia and Muslim responses to extremism. Define your Sufism Sufism itself is not really the correct term. The original term is Tasawwuf (inwardness), and Tasawwuf is the traditional science of purification. It … Continued
Journey on the Eastern Express I boarded the train at Haydarpaşa station and was directed to my carriage, my home for the next 2 days. Its archaic style, a 1960s Pullman carriage, amused me instantly. With the seating area to the left, which pulled down into beds, a large table incorporating fridge and a sink … Continued
March 2015, saw the first Asfar Erasmus+ Youth Exchange, Inspire Europe, occur in Istanbul, following over 6 months preparation to bring young people aged 18 to 30, together in a unique cultural and learning experience. 20 young people from the UK and Turkey, were able to meet, engage, learn about each other’s’ cultures, develop new … Continued
Chicken-wire, deserted streets and checkpoints make conflict ever present for a tourist in Hebron, and other areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Yet, these areas are seeing an increased number of travellers as the number and range of tours in the area have increased. Tourism is not exactly new in the OPT – Hebron … Continued
Michel ‘Aflaq’s biography Michel ‘Aflaq, the founder of the Ba’th Party, was an atypical personality in the Arab world: he was a thinker, a philosopher, and a teacher inspired who with his ideas an entire generation of young Arab men. Has was born in 1920 in Damascus from a Greek-Orthodox family. His parents were involved … Continued
Current discourse on Yemen is dominated by the specter of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The organisation, which formed as a result of a merger between Al-Qaida Saudi Arabia and Al-Qaida Yemen in January 2009, continues to define both popular perception of the country and foreign policy towards it. It is certainly true that … Continued
Only a stone’s throw from the old medina of Marrakech named Djeema el Fna, a UNESCO world heritage sit in its own right,[i] the hotel and restaurant named Le Riad Monceau can make a proud boast to being one of the closest establishments to heart of the city. Yet besides being positioned near the infamous … Continued
Economic sanctions are not a new development inside Iran. The country has been faced with restrictions on trade and finance since the days of the Shah, and both the state and its people have learned to be stubbornly resourceful when facing shortages. Meanwhile western governments still find the imposition of sanctions appealing, as it allows … Continued
The quest for providing a framework in which a modern Islamic state should assume, particularly along democratic lines, has long been a debate raging amongst Muslim scholars, religious jurists, liberal reformers, political figures and authors. This debate spurred the Islamic modernist movement of the nineteenth century with prominent figures such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad … Continued
Asfar was established for two key reasons. First, to promote interest in the Middle East in a full range of subjects, beyond politics and international relations. Second, to encourage aspiring writers; photographers; thinkers; editors; and others to develop their skills and promote their talents on an accessible platform – an online journal. The e-Journal is … Continued
Energy, and the global demand and reliance on fossil fuels, is at the heart of many environmental debates. Scientists are continuously trying to find new, cleaner methods of producing the energy needed to sustain our current lifestyles. However, in discussing the importance of this need, the environmental concerns of the oil-producing states are often overlooked. … Continued
Lebanon is one of the smallest Mediterranean countries in the Middle East. With a population of over 4,224,000 people and 18 different sects/ethnicities, there is little wonder that in many ways it unlike any other Middle Eastern state. Elsien Van Pinxteren, and George Mghames toured rural Lebanon in 2010 in search of it’s forgotten past.
The Syrian uprising has dominated Middle Eastern news headlines for the last 18 months. International audiences have viewed the conflict through an “Arab Spring” paradigm, which simply paints rebel fighters against a corrupt dictator. However, the systematic torture and murder of children by the Al-Assad regime separates the Syrian conflict from regional generalisations. Torture of … Continued
The autumn of 2010 saw the small gulf state of Oman united in celebration. It marked the 40th anniversary of the accession of Sultan Qaboos to the throne, the moment at which Oman’s steady march towards modernisation began. Distinguished guests such as Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and King Abdullah of Jordan attended the festivities: … Continued
I have always been fascinated by the history of alchemy, especially in connection to the Middle East: from its conception, its development from Ancient Egyptian times, to the early Islamic world and finally its decline in the 12th century onwards. What has particularly amused me, in my studies of alchemy, has been people’s ideas of … Continued
Published by Asfar in London, UK - ISSN 2055-7957 (Online)